[jotray]

Is a paralegal legally required to notify client IN WRITING of court date ?
Ours said she did but neither of us received a letter,text or email.

[smoothy]

Just because you didn't receive it doesn't mean they didn't send it. Mail gets lost all the time.

[jotray]

Just because you didn't receive it doesn't mean they didn't send it. Mail gets lost all the time.

Yes. But we paid the court fees twice because of not appearing, because of her failure to notify us. Her response was " Too bad, we notified you both. We have a letter that was mailed and an email, to both of you".
Since neither of us received anything, does she have the legal burden of proof to prove she did ?

[AK lawyer]

A paralegal works for an attorney. In most places, a paralegal is not allowed to work for clients; that would be considered the unauthorized practice of law.

Thus it's the attorney who has the obligation to see that his clients receive actual notice of scheduled hearings. If you didn't get actual notice, take it up with your attorney. If the attorney's failure (The attorney would be responsible for any error of the paralegal) to insure that you were actually notified in money out-of-pocked to you, charge the attorney for your loss. In many jurisdictions, there are procedures for settling disputes with one's attorneys about attorney fees, etc.

It looks to me that the firm's records of your mailing address &/or e-mail address were incorrect. Whether that is their fault or yours is an open question. Ask for a copy of what the paralegal sent you and check the addresses to which it was sent.

[smoothy]

First... if you had a court date coming.. you should have been more proactive and called checking up on it. PARTICULARLY after the first missed date. Even if they were lax in doing their part...it could have been mitigated.

I even check up on traffic court cases when I have a firm date. If they say it was mailed... they can most likely prove it. Then its back on you for not following up.

Ask them when it was mailed exactly, and if they has a receipt # or tracking #.

Honestly...if it was my butt in a sling. I'd be calling them every other day until I got the information I was after. I learned that lesson a long time ago. I leave as little to chance as possible.

Emails can get bounced from servers, sent to spam folders or accidentally deleted by the end user. And as was mentioned....find out what exactly what address they were sending it to. (assume nothing)

If everything ends up being on their end...then do what AK lawyer suggests.

[jotray]

Thank you. My brother wants the 2nd court fees back but I was hesitant about this costing us even more if we hired an attorney but we are positive that we were not notified.
I now feel more confident about pursuing reimbursement.
Thank you.

[jotray]

We filed, then after waiting a few weeks, we called the paralegal & asked if she heard anything. She said no, you just have to be patient & she will let us know as soon as she knows something. We trusted her.
I agree now that we should have done more ourselves. A lesson learned at least :)

[smoothy]

That's one lesson many of us have had to learn the hard way. Myself included. And that applies to everyplace.

[AK lawyer]

...but we are positive that we were not notified.
...

Yes, but the question would be "why?".

As I suggested, find out what address was used.
Was this your current address?
If it was not your current address, had you changed your address without notifying the firm?
If it was the current address, the post office probably lost the letter and (with respect to the e-mail), the message went to your spam filter or something.

I don't believe it's reasonable to have to do this by certified mail. But the paralegal should have at least called you the day before the hearing to remind you.